Good news for Hall & Oates fans: Daryl Hall has a new solo album out called Laughing Down Crying.  Bad news for Hall & Oates fans: Daryl says the duo have pretty much decided to stop recording new music.  “Although we like doing things together, and we’re very proud of what we’ve done in the past together, we feel that we want to be our individual selves from now on,” he explained to ABC News Radio.  When asked if he’s serious about him and John Oates never recording together again, Daryl stated, “Yeah.  I’m not saying never, but I don’t think so.  I mean, maybe in 15 years?   I dunno, 10 years?”

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Hall & Oates are no more — in fact, they’ve got a bunch of concert appearances booked in November and December, as well as an Australian tour for early next year.  “I don’t want anybody to think that Hall & Oates is ‘breaking up,’ or any of that nonsense,” Daryl explained.  “We like to do what we do.  It’s just that we really feel that when we’re dealing with new material, we’d rather work on our own.”

As for Laughing Down Crying, Daryl’s first solo release in years, the making of the record was marked by tragedy.  Just three songs into the project, Daryl’s close friend, guitarist, co-producer and musical collaborator T-Bone Wolk died.  “Losing him was like losing a brother…it threw the whole thing into complete and utter chaos,” Daryl recalls.  “I think part of the story of this album is the coming out of that chaos and getting on some kind of a track and actually prevailing in the midst of all that.”  On the positive side, the album also reflects Daryl’s joy in his recent marriage and relationship with his two stepchildren, one of whom sings on the album.  The title Laughing Down Crying, he says, “represents a transition and a confusion, and it’s frustration and two things happening at the same time, the great and the terrible.”

There’s a wide variety of musical styles on Laughing Down Crying, including a couple of songs that could’ve been outtakes from a Hall & Oates album circa 1982.  Daryl makes no apologies for that, noting,  “You know I’m just being myself, really.  My motto on this album was: ‘Don’t fear the 80s!’”

ABC News Radio